Seanad debates

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Commencement Matters

Family Reunification Policy

10:30 am

Photo of Colette KelleherColette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. She covers many bases much of the time. I know this is not in her Department's specific remit, but it is good to have her here. I ask if she would be able to endorse the goals of the safe passage campaign and introduce a humanitarian admission programme supported by a community sponsorship scheme, to create a new safe and legal migration route for people fleeing conflict who have a family member living in Ireland already.

As the Minister of State knows, we are currently experiencing the largest global humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. Ireland has stepped up to the mark time and time again to help solve global issues in any way we can. People around the country were very proud in 2015 when we promised to welcome 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers by September 2017. So far, we have only accepted 1,238 of the promised 4,000, and I and many others are very disappointed that we are likely to miss the promised target for September of 4,000 people coming into our country. We know that many people already legally resident in Ireland are desperately seeking to bring family members out of conflict zones and have the resources to do so.

The safe passage campaign is a scheme proposed and developed by a very fine NGO called Nasc, based in Cork. It would go some way to help us regain some of the last ground. The Nasc scheme would introduce a humanitarian admissions programme for Irish citizens, beneficiaries of international protection and legal residents to apply for family reunification for extended family members fleeing conflict zones, similar to the Syrian humanitarian admission programme, SHAP, introduced for a limited time in 2014. The scheme would also allow members of society to co-sponsor family reunification applications. This can be a citizen, community group, faith-based groups, charity, business or university. The co-sponsor would provide financial, social and institutional backing and thus improve a person's opportunities for integration, easing the financial burden on the host family in Ireland and on Government. The Nasc chief executive, Ms Fiona Finn, said the proposed safe passage scheme would allow people to bypass the terrible use of traffickers and smugglers that particularly affects children coming into the country and the reliance on dangerous boat crossings, providing a safe and legal channel for Syrians to join their loved ones here in Ireland.

The scheme would help people like Mr. Amjad Shaaban. Amjad left Syria in 2005, became an EU citizen, and in 2011, he moved to Cork. Earlier this year, Amjad applied for his father and brothers to join him here. Three days after he discovered his application had been refused, his father died of a stroke. His appeal for his brothers to join him was also refused.Amjad said:

My two brothers are older, they’re single and don’t have families. I’m capable of hosting them, I have a decent salary plus I own a flat in Cork. I’m contributing to this society and all I ask for in return is a safe place for my brothers. Just consider that we are human beings. Imagine if this happened to your own family. I’ve lost my mother and my father. I only have two brothers, I don’t have anyone else.

Why can we not let Amjad welcome his brothers to Cork?

There would be a number of benefits to the proposed scheme. It is a pragmatic, cost effective and an efficient solution that would ensure the safety of those who flee conflict, while also promoting integration and the reuniting of families. Schemes such as this lead to faster, safer and more positive integration opportunities and outcomes. If developed, Ireland will be a leader in promoting humanitarian initiatives to manage the resettlement and relocation crisis in Europe.

There are significant international precedents for introducing such a scheme. The proposal is modelled on humanitarian admission programmes and private sponsorship schemes which are working very well in countries such as Canada, Germany and, most recently, the United Kingdom. The proposal was developed in consultation with members of communities which had been impacted on and has the support of the Irish UNHCR office, as well as official endorsement by ActionAid, Barnardos, the Crosscare Migrant Project, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Doras Luimni and ADT Ireland.

I call on the Minister of State to listen to the chorus of people calling on us to do more. Will she endorse the safe passage proposal? Will she make it easier for families fleeing conflict to be reunited? Will she ensure we will do more in order that we can come close to meeting our target of welcoming and giving refuge to 4,000 desperate people?

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